Re Eilat Mazar's claims to have found the biblical temples, archeologist Aren Maier is dubious about the claims and the dating. Israel Finkelstein from Tel Aviv University is concerned that Mazar fits her finds to match the biblical texts almost as a leap of faith rather than as a scholarly archeological evaluation....a case of searching for evidence and stretching the conclusions to support existing dogma. This does not support your contention of extended historical domination by the Jews, neither is there any other archeological proof for the existence of the temples.
Re 1945 Census my quick search found that in 1945 85% of the population of Old Jerusalem was Muslim Arab but due to a larger number of Jews in New Jerusalem, 60% of the population of all Jerusalem was Jewish. But this was artificial and recent, not the historical status quo. There had been high Jewish migration from Egypt in the 1920s, in 1919 movement internally from Safed after an earthquake, under European protection during the wars under the Mandate and predominantly large numbers in the previous 5 years after the start of WW2. Under the mandate, Zionist Jews came to dominate the Jerusalem municipal council promoting Jewish settlement and actively encouraging Arabs to leave. In 1945 the high percentage of Jews in All Jerusalem was recent, artificially created and did not match the fact that Jews were only 9% of the population of all Palestine and were an insignificant population in Old (historic) Jerusalem. This does not support a contention that Jews have a right to Jerusalem due to previous occupation.
Re your assertion that Jewish leaders accepted the UN partition, Jewish historian Ilan Pappe points out in detail from Israeli official records that the disposition of Arabs from their villages and lands was started well before declaration of war by Arab States and largely completed before any Arab armies entered the territory. You say you don't lose a war a get what you were offered beforehand but refugees do have a right of return, a right that Israel has denied to the Palestinians for nearly 70 years, defying a raft of UN conventions. You may want to research the 1948 assassination on UN Mediator Folke Bernadotte ( on orders from future Israel leader Yitzak Shamir) to see what Jewish leaders thought of the UN plan.
a quick search found that in the 1945 census the population of Old Jerusalem was 85% Arab Muslim but with a larger Jewish population in New Jerusalem, 60% of all Jerusalem population was Jewish. BUT 60% of all Palestinian Jews lived in Jerusalem with much lower numbers in the rest of the country, many had immigrated relatively recently returning from Egypt in 1920s, after the earthquake in Safed, from Europe pre WW2 under and with the support of the Britsh Mandate and most significantly from 1939 on. Zionists had an active role in the Jerusalem municipal council to promote Jewish settlement and encourage Arabs to leave..
That is, Jewish population dominance in Jerusalem was recent NOT historical, was artificial and planned and was unrepresentative of the demographics in 1945 throughout Palestine.... while 60% of Jerusalem, Jews were only 9% of the population of Palestine.
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Re Eilat Mazar's claims to have found the biblical temples, archeologist Aren Maier is dubious about the claims and the dating. Israel Finkelstein from Tel Aviv University is concerned that Mazar fits her finds to match the biblical texts almost as a leap of faith rather than as a scholarly archeological evaluation....a case of searching for evidence and stretching the conclusions to support existing dogma. This does not support your contention of extended historical domination by the Jews, neither is there any other archeological proof for the existence of the temples.
Re 1945 Census my quick search found that in 1945 85% of the population of Old Jerusalem was Muslim Arab but due to a larger number of Jews in New Jerusalem, 60% of the population of all Jerusalem was Jewish. But this was artificial and recent, not the historical status quo. There had been high Jewish migration from Egypt in the 1920s, in 1919 movement internally from Safed after an earthquake, under European protection during the wars under the Mandate and predominantly large numbers in the previous 5 years after the start of WW2. Under the mandate, Zionist Jews came to dominate the Jerusalem municipal council promoting Jewish settlement and actively encouraging Arabs to leave. In 1945 the high percentage of Jews in All Jerusalem was recent, artificially created and did not match the fact that Jews were only 9% of the population of all Palestine and were an insignificant population in Old (historic) Jerusalem. This does not support a contention that Jews have a right to Jerusalem due to previous occupation.
Re your assertion that Jewish leaders accepted the UN partition, Jewish historian Ilan Pappe points out in detail from Israeli official records that the disposition of Arabs from their villages and lands was started well before declaration of war by Arab States and largely completed before any Arab armies entered the territory. You say you don't lose a war a get what you were offered beforehand but refugees do have a right of return, a right that Israel has denied to the Palestinians for nearly 70 years, defying a raft of UN conventions. You may want to research the 1948 assassination on UN Mediator Folke Bernadotte ( on orders from future Israel leader Yitzak Shamir) to see what Jewish leaders thought of the UN plan.
a quick search found that in the 1945 census the population of Old Jerusalem was 85% Arab Muslim but with a larger Jewish population in New Jerusalem, 60% of all Jerusalem population was Jewish. BUT 60% of all Palestinian Jews lived in Jerusalem with much lower numbers in the rest of the country, many had immigrated relatively recently returning from Egypt in 1920s, after the earthquake in Safed, from Europe pre WW2 under and with the support of the Britsh Mandate and most significantly from 1939 on. Zionists had an active role in the Jerusalem municipal council to promote Jewish settlement and encourage Arabs to leave..
That is, Jewish population dominance in Jerusalem was recent NOT historical, was artificial and planned and was unrepresentative of the demographics in 1945 throughout Palestine.... while 60% of Jerusalem, Jews were only 9% of the population of Palestine.